Jennifer Love Hewitt has said in the past that people sometimes confuse her for the sweet ghost-seeing character she plays on her long-running TV series. She’s also revealed that she believes in ghosts and thinks that she was once contacted by her late grandmother during a session with TV medium James Van Praagh, who also produces “Ghost Whisperer.”

The National Enquirer has a related story this week that Hewitt believes her Hollywood home is inhabited by two spirits. One is the ghost of a high school friend who died in a car accident, and another is the departed wife of the previous owner. Hewitt doesn’t think they talk to her or anything, just that they make their presence known:

“[Jennifer Love Hewitt] believes two different spirits inhabit her house in Hollywood,” said a close friend…

One is the spirit of a boy she went to high school with who was killed in a car crash. And the second is a former resident of her house – Dorothy Chaney, the deceased wife of horror movie legend Lon Chaney Jr., reveals the friend.

And just like her TV alter ego, Jennifer isn’t the least bit afraid.

“She believes they’re both looking out for her,” said the friend. “Whenever she hears something go bump in the night, she doesn’t worry. Love says she just thinks to herself. ‘Oh, that’s just Dorothy!'”

Jennifer, whose character Melinda Gordon communicates with dead people on the hit CBS drama, has been sharing her otherworldly communications with the show’s consultant, Mary Ann Winkowski, about whom the show is based.

“Love really believes ghosts sometimes communicate with the living,” added the friend. “And she thinks she’s one of the lucky ones who they reach out to.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 16, 2009]

In honor of Halloween, I watched about three episodes of “Ghost Whisperer” from this season. While it was cheesy as hell, I really enjoyed it. Some of the plots were so hackneyed, like the girl who died in a car accident (spoilers for Ghost Whisperer earlier this season) while reading a chain e-mail that said something bad would happen to you if you didn’t forward it. She kept terrorizing her friends to get them to forward the e-mail and it was pretty ridiculous. There’s a real campiness to the show that’s probably unintentional but adds to the fun.

The creepiness factor is also kept to an acceptable level. You always know that the ghost is going to end up going to the light, and that the people the spirit needs to contact will never question Hewitt’s ability to see ghosts. Like why doesn’t anyone say to her “I think you’re crazy,” or “I don’t believe in that”? (Maybe they do, and I haven’t seen enough episodes to judge.)

Anyway it’s not that surprising that Hewitt buys into some of this stuff. But does she also think that ghosts are stuck here trying to resolve issues from their lives and if so, why doesn’t she help these two spirits?

Photos thanks to CBS